Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, has stressed the need to take kinetic actions, particularly socio-economic uplift in districts affected by conflict, to improve the situation in a sustainable manner.

He was chairing the 2nd Steering Committee meeting on the socio-political domain, following the directives of the Central Apex Committee concerning the revised National Action Plan 2021in Islamabad today.

During the meeting, he emphasized the critical challenge of terrorism the country is currently facing in Balochistan.

Ahsan Iqbal said the formation of this committee is to ensure that civilian agencies must complement their efforts besides the security agencies, performing their duties effectively.

He said a holistic approach to counterterrorism needs to be adopted, with inclusive development and governance as the core principle of the agenda.

The Minister emphasized that nation's development cannot be achieved without internal peace and harmony.

He stressed that provinces need to take charge of their developmental, educational, and governance initiatives, particularly in addressing the fires of terrorism.

Ahsan Iqbal also emphasized that this must be viewed as a national agenda, with provinces playing a proactive role. He said effective collaboration and communication among provinces is  vital to achieving success.